LOCKPORT, NY – Eastern Applied Research is a complete source of x-ray fluorescence (XRF) service and support that has recently expanded their accreditations coverage. It now includes coverage under ISO 17034 in addition to the ISO/IEC 17025 that is has maintained for decades. Associates from their in-house standards laboratory and quality department worked through ANAB (ANSI National Accreditation Board) to add the ISO 17034 accreditation because it’s the gold standard in certified reference material (CRM) and reference material (RM) production.
The main title of ISO 17034 refers to reference material producer/providers (RMP) and the specific accreditation is covered under Category A, Chemical Composition. By adding this accreditation, Eastern Applied Research is now able to certify composition standards used in the operation of XRF Analyzers. The accreditation also covers procedures in creating labels, documentation, etc.
The goal of any accreditation is to provide the customer with confidence that the provider they choose has the technical competence to meet specific guidelines that apply to their processes. ISO 17034 accreditation allows reference material providers to demonstrate this by complying with international criteria and is an assurance of the quality of reference material produced or its certification procedures.
In addition to covering requirements in CRM production, this accreditation provides confidence in labeling, and assignment of property values to materials, including stability and homogeneity determinations. While ISO 17034 specifies general requirements for RMP operations, specific levels of accuracy are required for each reference material appropriate to its intended purpose (appropriate measurement uncertainty).
For almost twenty years Eastern Applied Research has maintained accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025. This has been, and will be, a critical accreditation to users of x-ray fluorescence (XRF) because it relates to the certification of coating thickness standards and equipment. Coating thickness measurements being a primary use of XRF technology.
However, in recent years, their in-house standards laboratory has seen an increase in requests relating to compositional reference materials. This is a result of two factors…One factor being the increased use of alloy coatings like zinc-nickel (ZnNi), electroless nickel (ENi) related, and solders (SnPb, etc) to name a few major ones. The second factor being the increased use of Handheld XRF analyzers for alloy verification. The accreditation to ISO 17034 (Cat A) relates to steels (carbon steels, low and high alloy, aluminum alloys, lead based alloys, etc) so certification of those materials can now be handled through the in-house standards laboratory.
“While adding this ISO 17034 accreditation opens new doors for Eastern Applied, it was really driven by what our current clients needed,” notes Shawn Kramer, President of Eastern Applied Research. “With the increased use of alloy coatings in metal finishing and the growth of Handheld XRF services, we know that current customers will look to us as a reliable provider of reference materials (and certifications) and the addition of ISO 17034 assures them that we will meet their expectations.”
The Eastern Applied Research quality department focused on the chemical composition category of ISO 17034 because their current clients frequently use reference materials for alloy coatings and alloy verification. However, it is a potential that they will further expand this accreditation to cover additional reference materials as ISO 17034 has categories relating to inorganic reference materials (ores, cements, fuels, etc) and others that may apply to XRF users.
